This Kochi-based startup brings together women who are beginners in sports

Kochi-based business strategist and consultant Haripriya P Raju developed a habit of working out a few years ago. However, around a year ago, Haripriya felt the need to diversify into other types of physical activities, such as sports. She soon set out to find a space for adult beginners, but could only find academies for children and serious athletes. “I couldn’t find a space with women my age, whom I felt comfortable with,” she says.

This thought evolved into a startup founded by Haripriya and her friend Sanna Stephen called Do Culture — “a women’s only sports and adventure community, created to give women a safe, beginner-friendly space to try movement and outdoor activities without judgment, pressure, or intimidation.”

Haripriya P Raju and Sanna Stephen
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Special Arrangement

The 26-year-old entrepreneur says she grew up seeing women who were accustomed to watching sports, yet when it came to playing, the spaces were dominated by men. Haripriya further points out that women were often reduced to spectators or they completely stayed away from these events.

Participants at Do Culture’s session in Kochi
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Special Arrangement

Do Culture has already organised three beginner-friendly sessions. “Most of the participants were playing football for the first time. It was not based on skill or fitness but a space where they could move, play and have fun. We instructed them on how to play and what to do. It is not based on a competition but is about giving women a starting point,” says Haripriya.

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The community alternates between football and badminton sessions, organised on Sundays.

“Initially, it was difficult to find a football turf, because most of them are rented out in bulk to academies and companies. We also tried to find a female coach, but we couldn’t,” says Haripriya.

The cofounder says there were a lot of questions from men when she started this endeavour. They asked ,“Don’t men need space to play?” Haripriya responds, “Men already have enough spaces. The reason why women don’t get into sports isn’t that they are not interested. It is because they feel judged. When we made it women-only, we managed to remove that fear.”

Do Culture spread its message through social media and by requesting participants to raise awareness about it within their social circles. “Everyone who attended the sessions was delighted, but they all resisted leaving their houses internally. That needs to change.”

Participants at Do Culture’s session in Kochi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Sruthi Suresh, a 27-year-old software developer from Kochi, came across a post about Do Culture on her friend’s social media feed. “It was something I had been searching for a long time. I like football and athletics, but even at my workspace, we only train during tournaments. And even if you were to play on a turf, it’s mostly men who play there. So when I got an opportunity like that, I grabbed it,” she says.

Sruthi adds, “All of us were strangers. But we had a lot of fun. The coach explained all the basics well. By the end of the session, we had become friends. When we play sports together, it’s not an ordinary meeting. It is an opportunity to bond more as well.”

Currently, Do Culture charges ₹199 per session. They will organise events in other adventure sports such as surfing, and hope to expand their operations to other districts as well.

Do Culture is available on Instagram under the handle @do.cultr